This invention relates to placing components such as power terminal connections or a heater in a sealed compressor preferably to reduce the length of the compressor unit.
Modern compressors often include a compressor pump unit mounted within a sealed housing structure. The sealed housing structure receives the compressor pump unit and an electric motor for driving the compressor pump unit. A crankcase supports the pump unit.
Refrigerant and oil are allowed to flow within the compressor housing to perform various functions such as cooling the motor, etc. Various structure assists in moving the oil throughout the compressor housing.
The electric motor includes a stator mounted in a lower portion of the housing below the crankcase. There is typically a "dead" space between the stator and the crankcase. This space is used for allowing connection of an electrical connection through the sealed housing and to the motor. The overall height of the scroll compressor is defined by the necessary components, such as the motor, crankcase, and other components, as well as the "dead" space between the stator and the crankcase.
Another area of a sealed compressor which may sometimes not be used as efficiently as desired is near the lower end of the compressor shell. There are stator windings at both ends, and typically there is space left beneath the stator windings for the inclusion of components such as an oil heater. Again, this dead space undesirably increases the overall length of the sealed compressor.
Prior art motors have had a small deformed portion at the winding area where a motor protector has been packaged. However, the protector is essentially a part of the motor. Other components of the compressor have typically not been packaged in the length of the motor.
It is, thus, desirable to eliminate "dead" space and reduce the overall height of the scroll compressor. In some applications, there may be other areas that would be useful for packaging the electrical connection.